F is for Faithful

Then he [Jacob] dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” (Genesis 28:12-15)

When Isaac’s wife became pregnant with twin boys, God revealed to her that the older son would serve his younger brother. And Rebekah favored the younger boy Jacob, while Isaac favored the older boy Esau.

Jacob believed the promises God made to his grandfather Abraham. But apparently Esau placed little value on them because he sold his birthright for a bowl of lentils (Genesis 25:29-34).

Years later, Jacob robbed Esau of their father’s blessing and had to flee for his life as Esau vowed to kill him (Genesis 27), which brings us to the above verse.

While believing God, Jacob had problems with allowing the Lord to work out the details of His promises. However, Jacob proved to be faithful to God in his later years.

If we learn nothing else from Jacob’s life, we learn God is faithful even when we are not. God had a plan for Jacob to be the heir and the ancestor from whom Jesus Christ would descend. And nothing Jacob did surprised God, nor did it stifle God’s plans.

You can read Jacob’s story in Genesis chapters 25, 27-36.

How about you? What reminds you of Jesus that begins with the letter F?

See you in a twinkling,

Brenda K. Hendricks